The present disclosure relates to fluid circuits, and more specifically to a shut-off valve for a fluid circuit.
Shut-off valves are widely used in various industries such as the oil, gas or chemical industries and even in residential areas to regulate and rapidly stop the flow of a fluid such as a liquid or a gas within a fluid circuit in case of an over pressure in the circuit.
Gas shut-off valves used in the gas industry are critical components as they are configured to safely shut-off the fluid circuit and prevent hazards related to abnormal pressure and/or temperature levels.
High pressure shut-off valves are installed on high pressure gas lines, before a meter assembly and typically comprise a valve body having a fluid passageway located between a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet for enabling a fluid to flow from the inlet towards the outlet. The high pressure shut-off valve further typically comprises a valve member, for instance a ball valve having a through passage and adapted to be rotated between an open position for letting the fluid flow from the inlet to the outlet and a closed position for preventing fluid flow. The high pressure shut-off valve further comprises a stem operatively connected to the valve member and a handle mounted on the stem for rotating the valve member about an axis of rotation between its open and closed position.
Unfortunately, high pressure shut-off valves are manually shut-off by an operator by rotating the valve member to the closed position. This may therefore be dangerous for the operator in case of an over pressure on the gas line. Moreover, high pressure shut-off valve tend to be void of safety members such as pressure and/or temperature regulators adapted to automatically shut-off the valve as the pressure and/or temperature reaches a predetermined value on the fluid circuit.
There is therefore a need for an improved shut-off valve adapted to overcome at least one of the above identified drawbacks.